The Beard
by FancyFantasy02
Summary: "He's so gay, it's such a shame!"  "Don't date her if you plan on getting laid, I bet she wants to stay a virgin until marriage."  At least, that's what they say about twenty-two-year-olds Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen. But they have a plan. M for Lemon
1. Meet Bella

_**Hey there lovelies!  
>Here I am again with a new fic (:<strong>_

_**Again, this will be drabble-ish. Which means short little chapters with an update everyday. (I'll try) **_

_**I've come across this idea a couple of days ago, and let it grow in my mind until I was able to write it down.**_

_**I hope you'll enjoy my new Edward and Bella (:**_

_**xo,  
>Pearl<strong>_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Stephenie Meyes owns Twilight... *sob*<br>I just own a ticket to Breaking Dawn and a lovely new laptop!**_

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><p><em><strong>The Beard.<strong>_

_"He's so gay, it's such a shame!"_

_"Don't date her if you plan on getting laid, I bet she wants to stay a virgin until marriage."_

_At least, that's what they say about twenty-two-year-olds Isabella Swan and Edward Cullen. But they have a plan, it's about to get time for a change._

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><p><strong>Chapter One.<strong>

It was raining, the sky was dark with angry-looking clouds and gusts of wind that made you want to bury yourself under a pile of fleece blankets, your average autumn day in Seattle.

I sat on my bed, treasuring what was left of the week off from college I had and read through the important paper that was due next Thursday.

I didn't have a housemate so normally it's nice and quiet, and I lived in a studio not far from campus and outside. The rain was tapping on my windows and cars were slipping through the wet roads. All seemed like a perfect, me-time kind of day, filled with reading and drinking coffee.

There was noise in the hallway, which was rare since I lived on the top floor and the only other apartment was unoccupied.

I figured I wouldn't have a neighbor at all this year, because semester had already started and chances were small someone would even be able to afford the three bedroom apartment with the fancy kitchen and marble bathroom.

Yes, I'd seen it and drooled all over those shiny cabinets and professional looking steamer and chef-stove.

No, there was no way in a million _stinking_ years I'd be able to afford that, thanks to my lack of good money-planning and time left to work.

All I did was waitressing tables at the coffee shop and diner downstairs a few times a week, the place of my landlord Mike Newton, and that wasn't exactly a gold-mine.

Fridays were my days off, so I didn't bother dressing up nicely and just stuck with the black loose yoga pants and a warm sweater.

_Can't have enough warm, fuzzy sweaters over here_

I wondered what was going on at the luxurious apartment next door, and my curiosity got the best of me.

Standing up from the bed, I stretched my arms in front of me and tried to loosen up the painful knot in my neck without much success. I yawned once before pulling my ponytail a bit tighter and walking to the door.

I cracked open the door, sticking my head through the gap and peeked out to catch a glimpse of the noise-maker.

_Nothing to be seen… Weird._

I walked out of my doorway, being careful about not closing the door and went over to the door on the opposite side of the hallway.

It was opened, a stream of light coming through the crack.

I decided to be a very polite neighbor and knocked, _twice_.

**Please drop me a review! They're better than a week off! :)**


	2. Meet Esme

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter? It was a bit to introduce y'all to our Bella :)**

**Here is the second, meet Esme! **

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

"I'll be right there!" A woman shouted and I heard the sound of heels getting closer toward where I stood.

A gorgeous caramel-haired, petite woman was now standing in front of me, her eyes kind and grass green and a glossy smile on her lips.

"Hello, can I help you?" She asked me, still smiling at me.

"Uh, my name is Bella. I'm your new neighbor," I said dumbly.

But the woman just smiled brighter, raising her brows and opened the door a bit further. She was wearing a light grey dress with white details all over it and white wedges.

I felt seriously underdressed.

"Well hello, sweetheart! I'm Esme," she said leaning in to hug me.

_O-kay? Affectionate? Check!_

"Esme, nice to meet you. That's a lovely dress you're wearing," I complimented her which made her smile.

"Why thank you, dear! My daughter-in-law's design, I'm rather fond of it too," she said, smoothing down the fabric.

Daughter-in-law? Wow. She barely looked thirty-five, and already had a married son? What genes are those? Super-genes?

"Well, she's very talented," I said not that I knew that much about fashion.

"She really is, top of her class," Esme winked and I smiled in return.

"Do you want to come in? I have some coffee pouring to test the new machine," she asked me, I accepted.

The apartment had changed a lot since I went to look at it two years ago. I came to live from Forks to Seattle for University, and this had been the first place I could afford and that I liked.

The walls were now painted a lovely sandy-cream color, and I could spot black curtains hanging up in the living area.

_Esme had excellent taste. _

"Come further, dear, the kitchen is over here," she walked through the little hall and then turned right to where the kitchen was.

As we walked into the main part of the penthouse, it all looked very masculine and un-Esme-like. I wondered if she came to live her with her husband.

"Wow this place looks amazing!" I said in awe.

Esme's smile lit up the space as she spoke:

"I did my very best; I know what my son likes. I hope he'll like it," she said as she brushed her hand along the huge white leather sofa.

"Oh so you're not going to live here?" I asked her, admiring the room.

It looked so fierce and charismatic, with the dark accents all over. On the left, there was a modern fireplace and a gigantic television that seemed to be a part of the wall, it was that flat. Next to the TV, there were five windows next to each other, each with their own curtains and accompanied by a black table with dark grey stools around them. On the right, separated from the living room with glass, was the dream kitchen. It had changed too, and had black and grey granite workspaces, white cabinets underneath the workspace and black, glossy storage closets hanging from the ceiling. It was wonderfully done, with a wine cupboard integrated in the wall. Again, the cream colors were combined with dark wood, making everything the dream home for a guy.

The chef-stove made room for a built-in brazier and oven.

"God no, this place is for my youngest son, Edward," she smiled as she mentioned his name. "He's transferred from NYU to Seattle University this year, so he needed a place to stay since our own home is about three hours away," she explained.

"Oh, mine's too. I live in Forks, Washington. This is my last year at Seattle University actually, but I think I'll stay here after graduation," I told her.

"You live in Forks? So do we! How strange that we've never met before," Esme said as she walked me over to that magnificent kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee from under the state of the art coffee machine and handed it over to me.

"Yeah, wow. We must have missed out on each other then, although Forks is tiny," I said. Esme agreed and then told me they have only been living there for two years. So it wasn't that weird we hadn't met after all.

"Milk, sugar?" Esme asked and opened the refrigerator to get herself some milk.

"Milk, please," I said.

It was odd, but it seemed like Esme and I had known each other for a longer period of time then just ten minutes.

We chatted a bit, I told her about my studies and passion to become an English teacher and she told me about her family, her husband the doctor; her oldest son Emmett who was the owner of Cullen Wheels Inc. with his wife Rosalie; her second son Jasper who was a psychiatrist and his wife Alice-the designer. Also, she told me about her son Edward, who was like me, twenty-two and in Med school to follow in his father's footsteps.

Esme was very proud of her family from the expression on her face, and she had nothing to say about them but good things.

I wondered why Edward had transferred, but didn't ask Esme because that seemed impolite.

One thing was sure; I was anxious to meet my new neighbor.

Review? Then I'll update ;)


	3. Cupcake Craving

**Wow, the amount of alerts this story has already got blew my mind! Thank you to all of you :) I know you're right here reading this ;)**

**So, Bella met Esme and they chatted away.  
>This again, is a bit of a filler, but Edward is moving in soon! *snickers*<strong>

**If you want to see his Bachelor-Heaven, check out my facebook page, I am **_Pearl FancyFantasy OhTwo.**  
>You can follow my Twitter if that interests you, it's <strong>PearlFF02 _

**_Enjoy this chappie and please review, so I know whether you like it or not! Critisism is appreciated! _**

**_Chapter Three. Cupcake Craving_**

I continued talking to Esme for a while, learning that her son would be arriving tomorrow afternoon, so he'd be all settled in by Monday for his first classes.

She was very kind, and even invited me to have a late lunch with her –since it was three pm. I couldn't agree, because I had already had lunch, and my clothing wasn't really 'fancy-lunch proof'.

Then she left, locking the door toward bachelor heaven and hugging me good-bye.

I guess I'd made a new friend, and a very nice one!

I went back to my studio and suddenly I was well-aware of the smallness of the place.

When you entered my studio, you could see the kitchen area on the left with a little breakfast bar and three stools underneath it, a book armoire that covered almost half of the entire wall, with a couch in front of it accompanied by a coffee table that was covered in books and magazines. I placed a curtain right in front of my bed, so I would have a little bit of privacy –not that I needed it, to be honest.

I had a large bed with purple bedding and a lot of fluffy pillows, and now the curtain was open. Also the TV was over here, because I loved to watch movies and soaps in my bed.

Next to my bed there was a door, leading to my tiny bathroom. I had a shower, a toilet and a sink with a big mirror.

It wasn't much, but it was home after all, and I loved my place.

_Not that I would mind living in heaven next door, though._

I decided to bake some cupcakes, so I went over to my kitchen and got all the ingredients out of the cupboard, pre-heated the oven and started on my recipe.

Maybe I could even give a little welcome-basket to my new neighbor, Edward.

He had a strange name for someone his age, I thought. Perhaps he had inherited the name from his grandfather? Or from his father, because I hadn't heard Esme mentioning the name of her husband.

Oh well, people had strange names nowadays. Just look at those celebrities and what they call their kids. I wouldn't exactly name my daughter Apple, that's just wrong.

After I had filled my cupcake holders, I put them in the oven and set the timer. When I had done that, I sat on top of my bed and arranged my papers from school so I wouldn't sit on them and put on the TV. There wasn't anything exciting on, so I opted for an episode of Desperate Housewives, not really paying attention to what was happening.

Ten minutes later, the heavenly smell of chocolate cupcakes was travelling through my studio, making me salivate and eager to taste them already.

_I bet nothing can be better than the taste of chocolate-chip cupcakes_

_Poor Bella! She thinks nothing is better than cupcakes... *sigh*_

**Review, please? Now that is truly better than cupcakes ;) And has MUCH less calories!**

**xo**

**Pearl**


	4. Phonecall & Fixup

**Here you go :)**

**Please, review.**

**4. Phonecall and Fix-up**

Twenty minutes later, I burned my finger on the baking place the cupcakes were on and cursed my clumsy self once more for not putting on those nice thick heat-protecting mittens my mother got me last year.

I made my white frosting, no pink since I planned on giving a few of them to Edward and pink and a guy didn't really seem to be greatest choice.

So I frosted my cupcakes, all twenty-five of them, and made them look absolutely delicious.

I put ten of them in a plastic box and into the refrigerator, for tomorrow. The rest of them, I placed on my breakfast bar, side by side on a plate.

I couldn't really wait to eat them, so I took one who was still a bit warm and ate it with much delight. I chewed away and then my phone rang.

"Huwwo?" I said, my mouth still filled with the cupcake.

"Bells? You there?" it was my friend Charlotte who called.

"Yeah, sowwy, was just eating," I apologized to her, finally swallowing down the sugary goodness.

"I should've known you left some for me?" she asked, and laughed.

"Sure thing, Char, how are you?" I walked around the breakfast bar and went to sit down on my couch.

"Very good, thanks! Just finished my paper, how is yours going? And how are you doing?"

"Oh that's great! Mine's ready too, thought I would never have enough words for that one," I said. "I'm good by the way,"

"I know right! And if you are having trouble with finding words, there sure isn't much hope for the ones like me," Charlotte said.

_She was always under-estimating herself._

"Charlotte, you're an excellent writer, don't put yourself down again," I told her, stretching my legs across the couch.

"Thank you, Bella, you are better," I knew she was smiling now.

"Now, what I called you for; Peter wants to have a little get-together tonight at our place. Do you want to come over?" She asked me.

Peter was Charlotte's steady boyfriend. They'd been together since their junior year in high school and were still madly in love with each other.

"Sure, that sounds great! Do you need me to take care of the desert?" I asked her to be polite.

"Would you want to do that, Bells? That would be so awesome, because you're almost like a pro-baker and Peter would be very grateful for not having to spend fifteen bucks on a cake at the bakery," she laughed.

"Of course, you know I love to bake. I'll make sure to make Pete's favorite, red velvet, right?"

"Red velvet it is, thank you so much. You're a little angel, Bella!" She squealed.

"You crazy person, go and give Peter a hug for me will you? How late do you want me?" I asked her.

"What about six-thirty? That gives us plenty of time to chat before dinner!" She said.

"Sounds good to me, I don't have a life anyway, so I'll be right on time," I half-joked.

"Oh please, if I can't put myself down, you can't say that about yourself, Bells. Promise me!" she said.

"Okay, okay. I won't say that anymore. I'll just think it, then," I snorted.

"Fine… Oh, and Bella?" she said mysteriously.

"Yeah?"

"We've invited Garrett as well," Charlotte said.

"Char? Don't try and set me up, it always ends up being a fiasco," I groaned.

"Trust me, he's super nice, see you in a bit, Bells! Ciao," and with that, my friend Charlotte disconnected.

Now you are here, please click the review button. Even if it's just one word you give me, it keeps me going :)

xo,  
>Pearl<p> 


	5. Garrett

**Enjoy! **

**5. Garrett**

In the time I had left before I had to leave for Charlotte and Peter's little party, I managed to bake a lovely red velvet cake, cleaned my kitchen after I dropped a glass of milk on the floor and took a hot, long shower.

I took my time and washed my hair thoroughly, shaved and lathered my body up in strawberry scented body wash.

I felt re-born after I wrapped myself in a big blue towel and began to comb through my long, brown hair.

The mirror was all steamed-up, so I opened the window but kept the curtains closed.

_Didn't need to show my goodies all over Seattle._

I finished getting ready and waited until it was six to drive to Charlotte's apartment.

I got to Charlotte and Peter's place about fifteen minutes, not long after that, I was helping out Charlotte in the kitchen with the chicken and laughed at Peter who had sauce all over his shirt.

"Go get yourself cleaned and put on a fresh shirt, you're such a klutz Pete," Charlotte said angrily as she started to clean her cabinets with a wet towel.

Peter strolled off toward the bathroom, being careful not to make a mess of the living room as he walked through it.

"I don't know how you two are not related… You're like the same person in personality," Charlotte shook her head and washed out the towel.

"Maybe we are related, and my mom had twins without knowing," I laughed and put the chicken in the oven, together with the mashed potatoes.

"That could be a logical explanation, really. Oh, right Bella, I wanted to ask you something," Charlotte said mysteriously.

"Shoot," I said and washed my hands.

"You don't mind my inviting Garrett, do you?" She asked.

"It's your home. You can invite whoever you want to, Char," I said.

"I know, but still… It was Peter's idea. He heard Garrett say you're a hotty and well, you know Pete," she shrugged.

I nodded.

"It's fine. It'll be alright. I just hope I won't make a fool of myself. You know how I can be with new people. Especially guys…" I trailed off.

"It'll be alright, yeah. Now go get your ass on my couch, I'll give you some bubbly goodness," she winked at me and turned to get her bottle of fake champagne.

I called it that, because it came from Italy.

So Charlotte came to sit next to me and we drank a glass until Peter joined us.

Five minutes or so later, the doorbell rang and it was time to meet Garrett.

Peter went to answer the door, and not long after that, he came back followed by a tall, and very handsome man.

Garrett was about six feet two, had light brown hair that reached his jaw line and was wearing dark distressed jeans and a brown T-shirt with a black and grey checked flannel on top.

He looked yummy, and I smiled as Peter introduces us to each other.

"Why Bella, you are looking extremely beautiful tonight," Garrett said, taking in my five foot four form, clothed in a skinny jeans and long blue top.

I blushed.

"Thanks, you're not looking bad yourself," I smiled. "How is school going for you?" I asked him, sitting back down.

"Oh well, it's okay. I have a new assignment to photograph pregnant women, it's harder to find them than I thought it would be," he said smiling.

"You do photography?" I asked him.

"Yeah, my final year now, what do you do, Bella?" Garrett asked, genuinely interested.

"I'm doing English, I really want to be a teacher," I confessed, feeling a bit lame for my choice of profession.

"There always are going to have to be teachers, so you've made a pretty good choice! My father keeps bugging me about photography not having future…" he shook his head and took a sip of his drink.

"Char? Can I smoke in here?" Garrett asked.

Charlotte frowned. "Are you crazy? That would totally ruin my curtains. If you want to smoke, it's the balcony or out," she said seriously and crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Oh sweetheart, calm down a bit. He was just asking," Peter said softly.

"Right, sorry Garr, it's just that they are new and I've been looking for those for a really long time and yeah… The design got me in the top of my class last year," she grinned.

"It's okay Charlotte, nice curtains," Garrett winked and went out to the balcony, playing with his lighter along the way.

"So, so, so? Do you like him so far?" Charlotte asked, turning away from Peter and giving me her full attention.

"Yeah, he's cool. And nice, and good-looking," I confessed, nodding.

"I know right, he's totally hot," she said.

Peter cleared his throat.

"But nowhere as hot as you, man-meat of mine," she cooed toward Peter, blowing him a kiss.

"I thought so, now if you will excuse me ladies, I have to check on the chicken," Peter said humoring us.

"I think he likes you too, the way he's looking at you… Girl, you're getting lucky," Charlotte winked at me.

I coughed, feeling uncomfortable.

Next chapter is Edward time! ;D


	6. Party Pooper

**Here you go, please review if you want more!**

**6. Party Pooper**

After Garrett came back from smoking a cigarette outside, we placed ourselves at the table. Charlotte did a great job decoration it, like usual, and used a dark brown tablecloth with ivory napkins.

Fancy, I thought.

Of course they made us sit very strategically; Peter in front of Charlotte, and Bella in front of Garrett.

I didn't mind, but still, it didn't please me so much that Peter kept setting me up with some of his pals.

_But Garrett's a decent guy, Bells, you should give him a chance_

I went to sit down, smiling and folded my napkin in my lap once I sat down on the comfy chair.

"So, who wants wine?" Peter asked and opened the bottle of French red wine.

Everyone agreed, and I did too, just to feel that little more confidant, sitting opposite of such a handsome man for the next two hours.

I drank my wine, feeling the familiar buzz coursing through my body after I had downed that first glass.

I shook my head when Charlotte asked me if I wanted a re-fill.

_You are not trying to end up dancing on this table, Swan_

Soon Peter came to us with the starter dishes, which was Salade Niçoise, a salad from the South of France.

It was lovely, and we all complimented our chef, who smiled broadly.

We shared some stories over the wine, and I had another glass when my foot bumped with Garrett's leg, causing him to look up at me from under his lashes and smile, and made me blush crimson in a matter of seconds.

Charlotte told Garrett about some humiliating moments we shared with each other, such as when we went swimming and forgot to put our clothing into one of those little lockers. The result of that was that we had to try and get under the doors of that dressing room to get a hold of our clothing.

Let's say we never went back to that pool…

After having the main course, the chicken and mashed potatoes, Peter and Garrett started talking about sports and school, about the project Garrett had to do, about a paper Peter was writing for his touchy-feely psychology professor, so Charlotte and I decided to get over to some girl talk in the kitchen.

We cleared the table and filled the dishwasher. After that, Charlotte made some coffee for the four of us and we went back to the living room.

Peter was nowhere to be seen, and a curtain was blowing through the room where Garrett had opened the double doors to go outside for a smoke probably.

"Pete?" Charlotte called out, cocking her head as she waited for him to answer.

"He's in the bathroom, shattered his glass of wine while he held it. It was funny, except for the part when his hand started bleeding and I almost blacked out, I'm really sorry for leaving him by himself," Garrett said, looking all pale and worried.

so?

I was wondering if you guys want previews or anything, if so, please review and I send you a nice review ;)


	7. I Giggle?

**8.**

Dinner passed and I said goodbye to Charlotte and Peter.

It seemed like Peter wanted to talk to me earlier, but Charlotte kept me busy. He was acting strange, and was very cool towards Garrett, but I didn't give it a second thought.

"Come, Milady," Garrett said like a gentleman and held out his arm to me.

I laughed and waved again at Charlotte in the doorway and then walked off with my date for tonight.

_Been a while since you had one of those, Bells_

I nodded at my inner-self and crossed my fingers for a happy ending of the night.

Garrett took me to 'Light me Up', a club downtown Seattle.

I'd never been there, but heard it was very fancy and nice on the inside.

A line of people was standing just outside the door, and a very bulky man stood in front of the door, his arms crossed at his chest and a very serious expression on his face that said 'I'm not to be messed with'.

I sighed as I saw the amount of people in front of us, hoping Garrett wouldn't want to wait our way in and just go someplace else.

"Damn, busy night," Garrett said and he just walked up to the bodyguard.

"Garrett, what're you doing?" I asked him, my eyes wide.

"Going in to have some fun with you, Bella," he winked and motioned for me to follow him.

As we stood in front of mister Humongous, he smiled down at us, and I felt intimidated by his grand-ness.

Garrett put a hand around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"This is Bella, Paul. Paul, Bella," He introduces us.

I tried to smile at Paul convincingly, getting a smile in return.

"Good to see you again, bro. You to, Bella, welcome," Paul smiled broadly at us and motioned for us to go inside.

I was impressed.

"Wow, I thought that only worked in the movies," I giggled.

Wait.

I giggled?

**First of all, I'm really sorry for not replying to reviews. But the link on the e-mail doesn't work when I want to reply.**

**Does anyone have this problem too? Or do you know how I can fix it?**

**Thanks!**

**xo**

**Pearl**


	8. Club

**Please read, it's rather important!  
><strong>I get messages from people who are a bit confused with this fic.

Well, time to clear that up, no?

**The Title?  
><strong>Beard is a term people use when they are trying to hide the fact that they are gay from their environment.  
>When i.e. a lesbian or a gay man doesn't want their family to think or know they are gay, they have a 'fake relationship' with someone who agrees to never tell anyone about it.<p>

So, as you can read in the summary; majority of the people judge Edward and stamp him with 'GAY', and that's where Bells comes in.

Of course, I can't tell you any more than this; or it wouldn't be necessary to read this.

I hope I've cleared that up?

The first couple of chapters are fillers yes, indeed.  
>But I promise Edward will enter the story in about two chapters so please stay with Bella until then :)<p>

Yes, this is a canon-fic; so don't worry about Garrett too much.

Why is Peter injured? Well, Garrett has done something rather rude... And Peter found out!

But that's all to come :)

Enjoy!

xo

Pearl

**9.**

Once inside, I fed my eyes the lovely view of the club.

Everything was purple and metallic, and it was absolutely wonderful!

There was a couple of tables set up around the enormous dance floor. People were everywhere; dancing, kissing, drinking, laughing.

It was like Disneyland, minus the Disney and plus some heavy beats

I loved it!

"This is the most amazing place, ever!" I shouted above the music, Garrett nodded at me

"It is, come, I'll introduce you to some of my friends," he said in my ear, taking my hand and leading me over to the bar.

Lots of people were ordering drinks at the bar, a few were sitting on the bar stools and three people worked their asses off, making sure everyone was content and having a glass or bottle in their hands.

I could see a man with a blond ponytail and a woman with fierce red hair, curled and styled to die-for. The other person was a tiny blonde with heavy eye make-up with a big smile on her face as she mixed a drink, very professionally.

_Wow_.

_I couldn't stop saying that, where the fuck is your wide range of vocabulary now, huh?_

The woman with the red hair turned her head in our direction, showing her delicate features, which resembled a doll-face. She smiled at us and motioned to us to wait a second.

As the majority of the people had their drinks at the bar, she turned to us and spoke;

"Garrett! Hey guy, it's been a while since I've seen you around," she said and leaned over the bar to kiss Garrett on the cheek.

She looked at me, her head cocked and a smile on her thin lips.

"Oh Tory, this is Bella. Bella, this is Victoria," Garrett said.

"Hi," I said, waving dumbly.

"Lucky girl," she winked at me and shouted at the other two bartenders.

They both turned to us, and Victoria said something to them.

"Bella, this is James and Kate. Jay, Kate, this is Bella," she introduced us.

"Nice to meet you," I smiled.

James flashed Garrett a grin, wiggling his eyebrows.

**Shorty, I know ^^**


	9. Kiss Kiss

**Here you go, sweeties!**

**Have a lovely weekend :) **

We talked to Garrett's friend Victoria some more, as Kate and James had customers to tend to and I found out she and James were engaged to be married and long-time friends of Garrett since high school.

She had to go back to work eventually and left us with a drink on the house.

I wasn't exactly complaining.

Garrett took me to the dance floor, with a lot of moping from me.

"Garrett, I don't dance. I'm really sorry but it's like I'm born with this inability to stay on my feet when rhythmic music is playing," I said terrified of falling flat onto my face.

"No, you won't fall, sweetie. I've got your back," he winked at me.

I sighed deeply and let Garrett lead me to a dance spot.

Couples and individual people were shaking their _boot-aays_ on the floor to some very electric, rhythmic song that was playing and you felt the sexual vibration bounce off the walls.

I got uncomfortable.

_Of course, Bella, why not tell the guy you're a virgin right away? As if he hasn't noticed already…_

Garrett held my waist as I followed his lead and started moving onto the music. I hid my face against his chest, blushing furiously as I stepped on his toes.

"I'm so sorry," I said and he stopped moving.

He laughed softly, and I felt his chest vibrate underneath my cheeks.

"That's fine, want to go?" he asked me bluntly.

I gazed up at his face, that was extremely close to my own and I heard myself form a positive answer to his question.

He led me outside, passing through the sea of dancing bodies that were creating the erotic atmosphere.

Garrett sighed deeply as we walked outside, my ears felt funny and the surroundings seems so much more quiet than before.

"That was crowded," I commented, laughing as Garrett held me close to his side by my waist.

"Yeah, it was. Bells, what I've been thinking about all evening…" he said, making my head turn in his direction and not even letting me answer.

His lips crushed onto mine, and I could taste the alcohol he had had earlier.

I was shocked, but kissed him back, not knowing what to do with my hands.

He kissed me deeper, tilting my head and let one hand graze along the length of my spine.

His tongue came out to taste my lips, ghosting over them softly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey my sweets!**

**I am really sorry to inform you all that this isn't a new chapter, but a quick message to explain a couple of things.**

**Right now, I'm having Christmas Exams which are really important to me and also to my family. This means that time for writing is extremely limited to impossible, but I do try to do whatever I can to write a bit in my breaks or when I am waiting to do an oral exam at school.**

**I know that I haven't been uploading new chapters for a while now, that was due to preparations and extra lessons I took for my German class and for Business. **

**I'm really sorry, and I just hope I don't have any re-tries for any of my exams, so my holiday can be spend writing, reading and writing :)**

**I hope you won't stop reading my things just because I wasn't able to update for that while.**

**And I will try to write down a sort of schedule, figure out on what days in the week I can update the best for all my stories. I'm sure you would find that helpful?**

**For 'Edward Cullen, the ballerina stalker', there is a banner. You can find that on my facebook page (Pearl FancyFantasy OhTwo).**

**If you want to get in touch with me, or have any questions regarding the stories, please feel free to contact me through facebook or twitter (Pearlff02). You can also e-mail me if you'd like, via pearlff02(at)**

**Thank you for taking time to read this :)**

**I love every single reader of my work, also if you don't review ;)  
><strong>

**Love!**

**Pearl x **


	11. Inner Voices know best

**_Hey there babes!  
>I'm on the train right now to go back from home to my little studio in the city (:<br>So I figured, while I'm waiting I could write a bit and give you a little something to read on a Sunday._**

**_I have my last but one exam tomorrow, and Tuesday I'm going back home for two weeks of vacation *cheer*_**

**_ it's quite a long chapter for me, three pages. Keep your fists ready to punch Garrett in the face, Bella-style -minus the breaking of the hand, of course!_**

**_Enjoy and please review (:_**

**_Love,_**

**_Pearl_**

* * *

><p><strong><em>The Beard.<br>_**_Chapter 10: Inner voices know best. _

Our kiss ended; and we broke apart.

"That. Was. Awesome." Garrett breathed.

"Yeah," I said, still a bit shocked by his unexpected kiss.

"Do you want to stay over?" he asked bluntly, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking at me.

I gulped.

"Uh, I don't know…" I trailed off.

"Sorry, too straight-forward?" he asked me, narrowing his eyes.

"A bit, sorry," I confessed, feeling stupid.

"It's fine. What you think about coffee instead?"

I nodded.

We walked over to Garrett's car and drove to where he was living.

His apartment was on the sixth floor of the building, and I hurried up the stairs with him.

We stopped in front of the front door, number 602.

"This is me," Garrett announced.

We stepped inside and he showed me around.

I made myself comfortable on his couch and waited for Garrett to return to the living room with a fresh kettle of hot, steaming coffee.

We drank our cups and laughed together about some casualties as I noticed Garrett moving closer.

"Bella, can I kiss you again?" he asked.

I stared into his eyes, nodding unsurely.

He let his hand rest on top of my thigh and his lips touched mine again.

His kiss grew more and more heated, the passion suffocating me.

Garrett's hands glided over my thighs, slipping upwards to rest on the very tops of them. One hand continued his journey, grazing my ribs and palmed my breast.

My inner voice told me to stop, to push him back and to go home, but I was afraid he'd laugh at me and call me a prude.

_So many have called me that before._

I still didn't get what Garrett saw in me. I was boring, plain and not exactly an eye-catcher.

His breath filled my mouth, and I could taste the nicotine on his tongue that sought after mine.

I still kissed him back, feeling him getting closer, our chests touching and his hand groping me.

I didn't like it, I wanted to pull away.

_But why didn't I do it? _

My hands went up to his chest, pushing softly while pulling back my head.

He looked at me, confused.

"Garrett, stop it," I managed to choke out.

He grinned.

"What, you don't like it?" he asked.

I bit my lip.

"It's not that. But this is all a bit quick you know. We only just met and I don't really know you all that well, hell, I don't know you at all so I figured," I rambled and was broken off by Garrett.

"Fuck, man, you really are exactly as they say, aren't you?" he spat in my face, moving away from me.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I staggered.

Who are _they_?

He started laughing, and cocked his head.

"Mike told me you were such a fucking scary wimp. What is it? Scared I'll break your hymen by Frenching you?" he asked me.

I felt heat start to rise to my cheeks and my eyes began to tingle, announcing me tears were on their way.

This couldn't be happening.

_Not Mike…_

Mike and I had been dating for a couple of months, he was head-over-heels for me, couldn't leave me alone and kept asking me out. Eventually, I agreed and he was very happy with that.

He played to role of a perfect gentleman for a while, but after we were dating for three months, he couldn't keep his hands to himself and kept pushing me into having sex. I wasn't ready, not for him, I didn't feel it.

He laughed at me, right in face when I told him the truth. He called me an infinity virgin, that I would never be able to keep a guy if I didn't want to sleep with anyone. He was the first one to call me a prude, told every single one of his friends and eventually went out with Jessica and had sex with her on the first date.

"Why are you saying that? What does he have to do with all this?" I asked him, struggling to keep a straight face.

"I told him I'd be able to seduce you, you know. We made a bet over you, but now I know all the guys were right. You are an infinity virgin after all, Swan." He laughed. I clutched my waist, holding on to my shirt for dear life, as if it could hold back my tears.

"What now? Is our little girl going to cry? Boo-hoo," he spat at me.

I just sat there, unable to move.

This has all been a trick.

_Everything._

"Just get out of my fucking house, prude," he was still laughing.

I'd never felt this embarrassing in my entire life, being laughed at by a guy. I should've never have trusted him.

Did Peter know?

_One of my best friends? _

I rose from the couch, picking up my bag from the floor and stumbled to the door, feeling the tears leak from my eyes. I closed it, my hands were shaking.

As I walked down the stairs, I couldn't help myself anymore.

_I was an infinity virgin, and he would tell everyone about what happened._

_He would tell Mike._

_They would tell their friends, their girlfriends and their girlfriend's friends._

My cheeks were wet with tears by the time I arrived outside.

I wandered around, walked around until I found the right direction to go home.

All the while I looked down at the pavement, ashamed of myself and afraid everyone would know.

After a couple of minutes it began to rain, and I quickened my steps. My phone was buzzing away in the front pocket of my bag; I didn't bother to get it.

I finally saw my building and went inside, not even bothering to take the elevator and took the stairs instead to the top floor.

Once I was inside I just went to bed with my wet clothes and surrounded myself in blankets and pillows.

They were the only ones, not complaining while sharing my bed.

**Poor girl...  
>If you have any suggestions, please let me know!<br>See you next update!**

_P._


	12. Not such a good morning

**Hello again!**  
><strong>I have a little message at the bottom :) <strong>

**The Beard.  
>Chapter Eleven. <strong>

I didn't know what time it was, or how long I'd been laying in my bed like that, wet clothes and everything; I was so damn cold.

My phone rang a couple of times while I was asleep, but I was too tired to pick up.

I squeezed my eyes shut at the light that was shining through the window next to my bed and sat up, hearing the voices outside of my front door.

"I don't know, she's not picking up her phone. I'm so worried!" It was Charlotte.

"And are you sure she's here? I mean, when she's not answering her door," someone asked. It wasn't Peter's voice; it was much lower, smoother.

"She must be home, there is no other way. There isn't anywhere she could possibly be but here," Charlotte said, panicking.

"Try the door again? Maybe she was in the shower or something?" the man asked again.

I wrapped my blanket over my shoulders, still feeling like an ice cube.

"I'm really sorry, but I have to go now. I'm meeting my sister for lunch," he said.

So it was lunch time?

"Okay that's fine. It's really nice to have met you, Edward, seeing the circumstances," Charlotte said.

Edward? As in, my new neighbor, Edward?

"Likewise, Charlotte, good luck with finding your friend. I hope she turns up soon," Edward said.

I scratched my head, feeling the pain my ponytail caused overnight.

I pulled the rubber band out of my hair and ran my fingers through it.

"Bella, Bella, please!" I heard Charlotte sob, banging the door twice.

Sighing, I stood up, feeling the effects of my crying, which made my head hurt and walked over to the door.

When I opened the door, I saw Charlotte's face was stained in mascara and she didn't comb her hair.

"Oh god, you're okay," she sobbed and hugged my tightly.

"Char, what are you doing here?" I asked her, savoring her warmth.

"Peter explained to me what happened with Garrett," she whispered.

"Come inside," I ordered her.

Charlotte closed the door behind her and stood there, dropped her bag onto the ground and sighed.

"How do you know about this?" I asked her.

"Peter got a text last night after you two had left, I don't even know what time it was but I figure it was after you left his place," she said and I nodded, urging her to continue.

"Garrett planned all this with a couple of his buddies from school. They had a bet over you, Garrett had to get you in his bed and you know… Peter figured it out since he overheard a call between Garrett and some other guy. That's actually why he hurt his hand; he gripped his glass too tightly when he confronted Garrett. And then he blackmailed Peter. When he would warn you, he'd hurt you instead," she sighed.

"We fought about it; I told him he should've warned you anyway. Garret's a big dickhead." Char said.

"I'm sorry," I told her sitting down on the couch.

"What?" She looked mad.

"How dare you apologize? It should be Peter doing that!" She said, loud.

"He hurt me, Char, I feel so embarrassed," I confessed.

She came to sit next to me and wrapped her hands around me.

"It's going to be fine, don't let those assholes get to you, Sweetheart. You're better than then. Better than they'll ever be," she said.

"I can't stay very late, I used my lunch break to come to you," Charlotte said.

I smiled weakly.

"It's okay. I love you Charlotte. Thanks for being here for me," I said to her.

She nodded and we sat there in silence for a few minutes until she had to leave.

I waved her off and walked over to my bathroom to take a shower.

Hot water washed over me, and I closed my eyes to prevent the foam from hurting them.

So my new neighbor was here? I better go and give him those cupcakes I made. But maybe I should just drop the basket off in front of his door, so he wouldn't really see me.

_What he mustn't think of me now, the disappearing friend who made her best friend cry in front of the front door._

I sighed and got out of the shower and got ready, throwing on my home clothes which lay on my bath towel rack.

Grabbing the cupcakes, I put them on a plate and went to set them in front of Edward's front door.

**So, so, soooow! I saw the Bel Ami trailer today, and CAN'T FLIPPING WAIT!  
><strong>

**okay here's the thing, I planned on doing Ed pov next, but would you rather read it from Bella's perspective?  
>Please let me know? <strong>

Okaaaay! Let me see those reviews (: Ed's coming up ;)


	13. Chapter 13

I was planning on posting a whats-up-with-me-post.  
>But basically what happened was me having a terrible relationship that was kind of abusive. I couldn't go on the computer, he kept my cellphone hostage...<br>I finally was able to get rid of him, it took a lot of time and strength.  
>I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting :( I hope everyone who read this story will continue to do that?<p>

I love you, and finally I am back ...

Love,  
>Pearl<p>

If you have any questions regarding my story, please don't hesitate to ask.

You can also add me on facebook (Pearl FancyFantasy Oh Two)


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